About this episode
In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett analyze France's three distinct empires across four centuries, examining why France—despite superior geography and population—repeatedly failed to achieve lasting global dominance like Britain, cycling through spectacular rises and political collapses that prevented strategic consolidation.
--
? Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess
--
SPONSOR: NETSUITE | SHOPIFY | ORACLE
More than 40,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. If you're looking for an ERP platform, get a one-of-a-kind flexible financing program on NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/zen - Download your free CFO's guide to AI and machine learning.
Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system Shoppay and exclusive AI apps. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/momentofzen.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): Oracle's next-generation cloud platform delivers blazing-fast AI and ML performance with 50% less for compute and 80% less for outbound networking compared to other cloud providers. OCI powers industry leaders like Vodafone and Thomson Reuters with secure infrastructure and application development capabilities. New U.S. customers can get their cloud bill cut in half by switching to OCI before March 31, 2024 at https://oracle.com/cognitive.
--
FOLLOW ON X:
@whatifalthist (Rudyard)
@LudwigNverMises (Austin)
@TurpentineMedia
--
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DISCUSSION
Three French Empires
First Empire (1620-1765): North America
Quebec to New Orleans via Great Lakes/Mississippi
Founded Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, New Orleans
Lost everything to Britain in Seven Years War (1763)
Second Empire (1798-1815): Napoleon's Europe
Continental empire from Rhine to Russia
Invented "total war" concept
Ended with Russian invasion disaster
Third Empire (1830-1960s): Colonial Africa
West Africa, Algeria, Vietnam response to Franco-Prussian War
Lasted longest but economically insignificant
"Strong generalist, not extreme player" - Best European geography and population, but never committed to single strategy like England (naval) or Germany (continental). Pattern: Success ? Politica
